Spring Branch ISD Featured News

As a high school student, Veronica Brittain was involved in Career and Technical Education organizations. 

“These experiences made a big difference in my high school experience,” said Brittain. “You have a chance to meet people, develop leadership skills, plan events and activities and have fun along the way! It bonds people to a common purpose.”

In 2020, she became an Education and Training teacher at Stratford High School (SHS) and was excited to provide those same opportunities to her students. 

Brittain taught a Child Guidance course that was intended to be a field-site-based class, but students were unable to visit elementary schools due to the pandemic. Brittain and her class hosted Springtastic Family Fun Day in collaboration with FamilyPoint Resources, an SBISD Good Neighbor that offers children a variety of programs promoting everything from the arts to health fitness. The event created an authentic experience for students and allowed them to work with children after school. 

After such a successful event, Brittain knew it was time to start a Texas Association of Future Educators (TAFE) chapter at SHS. She encouraged students to join and was excited to see that they wanted to be part of the new chapter. The organization now has about 20 members, but Brittain hopes to continue to grow. 

Opportunities like this allow students to explore the education field and make a plan before graduation, promoting Spring Branch ISD’s T-2-4 vision, where every graduate attains a technical certificate, military training, or a two-year or four-year degree. 

Last November, 17 of the students attended the TAFE regional conference at the University of Houston – Clear Lake. Six of the students advanced to the Teach Tomorrow Summit (state competition) and qualified in various areas including the Educational Leadership Fundamentals Test (ELF), Interactive Bulletin Board and Chapter Yearbook. 

The Teach Tomorrow Summit took place at the Kalahari Resort in Round Rock, Texas and hosted more than 2,000 students engaging in about 40 events. 

“The students went in not knowing much about this, as it was our first state competition and conference,” added Brittain. “They worked hard on their projects and practiced. I am proud of all our students!” 

During the summit, seniors Cristina Amado Cobo and Meredith Daulton competed in the ELF test. Seniors Audrey Clayton and Miah Hopkins Morrison participated in Chapter Yearbook and received the Gold award, the highest recognition. 

Miah got involved in TAFE during her sophomore year when the organization was started. Brittain encouraged her to apply to be an officer and she was named vice president. Miah is now a senior and president of the organization. 

“The Teach Tomorrow Summit was incredible! It was a great opportunity to connect and collaborate with educators across our district, as well as others across the state,” said Miah. “I was awestruck at how many people were there and realized that all the attendees cared about the future of education. There is never a dull moment in this field!”

Miah plans to attend the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) and major in Secondary Math Education through their Excellence in Teaching program. 

Eliana Geva, a sophomore, and Sarah Yoo, a freshman, competed in the Interactive Bulletin Board area. Sarah qualified for the Educators Rising national competition taking place in June in Orlando, Fla. 

“Through the Teach Tomorrow Summit I was able to practice public speaking and learn the importance of an effective presentation,” said Sarah. “Qualifying for the national competition is something I am very grateful for. This is an exciting opportunity and I look forward to representing my school. I also hope to improve my presentation skills at a more competitive level.” 

For the competition, Sarah created a math bulletin board named Money and Cookies. The bulletin board encouraged collaboration among students and taught them the value of a collection of coins. The “cookies” represented certain values and students had to add the cookies to reach various combinations of $1. 

After high school, Sarah plans to attend college, but is still deciding on her major. She notes that she is interested in becoming a children’s pastor or a speech pathologist for children. 

“We need teachers more than ever and TAFE allows students to explore education to determine whether it is something they want to pursue. They also get to have fun and make friends along the way!” concluded Brittain.